Broken Hearts, Wounded Souls
by SixSeasons
Summary: Three part story of heart break and what comes after.
1. Part 1: Amelia

Part 1: Amelia

Mommy. I love you so much. I just want you to know how much I miss you. I wonder where you went? Everyone says you ran off and left us... But... Somewhere here, in this part of my mind where I keep the fragments that have broken off of my heart, is the real reason I seek justice. Here a wounded soul sits and broods, being the only part of me that remembers where Mommy really went.

* * *

Amelia sat in the garden in a fluffy, pink dress. Frills, ruffles, ribbons and bows covered every coverable part of her. She rocked back and forth on the porch-swing with her mother - her beautiful, young mother. Amelia reached up her arms playfully and captured some of her mother's curls in her chubby hands, wrapping them around everyone of her fat little fingers. Her mother laughed and pulled Amelia into her lap. Amelia cuddled closer to her mother, kicking her legs back and forth in rhythm with the song her mother sang to her. Comfortable and warm, Amelia fell asleep, her tiny thumb in her mouth. Gently, Amelia's mother lifted her up and took her inside.

Amelia's mother wanted to put Amelia to bed, but Prince Phil thought they should let her stay up to watch the fireworks. It _was_ the Century Anniversary of Seyruun, after all. During their discussion Amelia woke up. Her large eyes blinked in her tiny face, and she smiled up at her mother. No, Amelia would go to bed. Amelia would go without protest, she promised, as long as her mother told her a goodnight story.

Cuddled up beneath her blankets, only her face peeking out from underneath them, Amelia listened as her mother weaved a magical story - a story of a beautiful princess who fought for justice. The princess hoped that if she did enough justice, everyone in the world would become good people, and nothing bad would ever happen again. As the final lines of the story came from her mother's lips, Amelia fell asleep. Amelia's mother kissed her forehead and quietly left the room.

Late at night, as the last firework exploded into the air, the gunshots began. They rang out through the night air like thunder. Tiny Amelia heard their deafening cracks and screamed for her mother. Again and again she cried for her, but no one came. Desperate, Amelia stumbled out of her bed, feet caught in the lace at the bottom of the nightgown. She ran though the palace halls, only to find them empty. Turning a corner too fast, she fell. Fell right beside the bleeding, dead body of her beautiful mother. Her father ran to her, having survived the assassination attempt himself, but was unable to shield her eyes from the body.

* * *

Mommy. I fight for justice now. Maybe if I teach enough people the difference between right and wrong, this won't happen again. Mommy, I miss you...


	2. Part 2: Zelgadis

Part 2: Zelgadis

My beautiful Syreeta, my precious Tamar. I will remember you until I die. I will always hold onto these wonderful memories of you, even though the closer I keep the memories, the closer I keep the pain. My heart still holds onto you both, though sometimes I fear it might crack from the strain. I will not forget you, my beautiful wife, my precious daughter.

* * *

Zelgadis looked down lovingly at the head of dark hair nestled against his chest. Gently, he combed the glossy strands with his fingers. He was so happy. He couldn't believe that he had originally objected to the idea of an arranged marriage. But Syreeta, she was everything he had ever wanted in a woman. Beauty so incredible that it made men stop in the streets and stare. Intelligence so high that her graceful remarks stumped even the most respcted of scholars. Strength so overwhelming that she could stop armies with a single spell. And she loved him. Bending down, he kissed the top of her head again.

A light tap on his knee distracted him from his thoughts of his wife. Syreeta laughed gently and picking up Tamar, asked the petite child if she was jealous. She pouted sweetly and bobbed her head up and down, making each of her curls bounce. Zelgadis grinned at this and wrapped his wonderful family in a huge hug. He was so happy.

But it was not enough. He wanted to give his family a perfect life. He wanted them to live in a palace. He wanted Tamar to have the finest schooling and the most expensive toys. He wanted it so that Syreeta would only have to work for pleasure, and not money. But he could not do that. At best, he was a skilled swordsman. Nothing more. Mercenaries did not make enough money for his dreams to be realized, and besides, he didn't want Tamar having to grow up worrying about her daddy doing dangerous work. He had to learn magic. But that was something his body just couldn't do. Kissing his daughter's plump cheeks goodbye, he went to forest to practice. Someday he would be strong.

A sudden noise behind him in the bushes startled him. Frightened, he tried to remove his sword from the log it was lodged in. The cursed thing would not move. As the figure stepped out of the shadows, Zelgadis was mildly relived to see it was Rezo. Rezo offered him power. Power could give him what he wanted for his family! Syreeta and Tamar could have whatever they wanted! If he was strong in magic, he could do jobs that actually paid well. He had agreed.

The pain was excruciating. It seemed as though every cell in his body caught on fire and then crystallized, the icicles ripping through him. Wave after wave of pain hit him, but the worst was the fear. The fear he would never see them again, the fear that Tamar would grow up without a daddy.

Zelgadis slowly opened his eyes to see the forest. Holding out his aching, trembling hands before him, he could see the change. He was hideous. Stumbling to his sore feet, he walked with throbbing legs. With each step, his body felt like a horrible burden, but he walked on.

Finally coming to the clearing, Zelgadis fell to his knees. Not from pain, for that had been forgotten, but by the sight that met his horrified eyes. His home was burning, and he did not see his family outside. He tried to run towards the house, but unaccustomed to his body, he fell. Struggling again and again to get up, he pulled himself along the ground towards the burning building. By that point though, all that was left of the once proud home was darkly burnt branches of walls. Finally managing to get to his feet, he walked inside the smoking remains of the house. Barely recognizable amongst the ruins were the bodies of his family. Beside them, in a crystal that would not burn, was a letter from Syreeta.

_Mother, Father, everyone, if you wonder why I did it, I'll tell you now. When Rezo came to us and said that my husband, my beautiful husband was dead, life was in that instant no longer worth living. That's why I burnt down the house and myself with it. Tamar, she begged me to not leave her alone. It wasn't fair for her to go on without her daddy, so that's why she burned too. Goodbye, everyone, I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you, but know that I shall be with my husband soon. _

Zelgadis fell to the ground, ashes unsettling into a puff of smoke about him. And despite the dagger he tried drive into himself, his cold stone body would not be killed.

* * *

Syreeta, Tamar, I almost pray for the day I die. I cannot love again in this world. The pain is too much. To feel this heartbreak again would be... there is no word to say it. So I will let no one close, until the day I die. And then I will have you again, my wife, my daughter.


	3. Part 3: Lina

Part 3: Lina

Mommy and Daddy. I wish we could have been a normal family. I wish we could have been one of the families that had picnics and told jokes at the dinner table and had parent/daughter talks. I wish it could have been like that.

* * *

Lina sat in front of the easel in her mommy's room. The room smelt like sunflowers. The whole house smelt of them. She knew if she was caught in here, her mommy would hit her, but it was the only place in the whole house you couldn't hear the fighting. Mommy and Daddy were arguing again. Lina had no idea what it was about, but Luna had groaned something about greedy materialists and had stormed out of the house. Lina figured it was probably about money. Luna always left when their parents fought about money. Lina curled up tighter, pulling her legs harder against her chest. Luna always left when she needed her. She wished mommy and daddy would stop fighting. She wanted to go outside and play, but she'd have to walk past them to get to the door, and then they would start screaming at her.

The noise lessened and slowly Lina crept out of her mother's studio and down the hall. Looking over the railing, she listened to their shouts. Mommy screaming that Daddy's shop didn't pay the bills, Daddy shouting the Mommy's paintings brought in no money at all.

Scared, Lina ran back to into the studio. She'd wait there a few minutes longer before going downstairs. Crying, she laid her small head against her mommy's paint box. She balled her tiny hands into fists, and prayed that they would stop. Why wasn't there enough money? What her life would be like if there were…

The studio door suddenly banging open brought Lina out of her thoughts. Surprised, Lina jumped back, knocking over her mommy's paints. Nervously, Lina watched as the colors spread out over the carpet in a puddle, the colors mixing together to create a sickening brown. Lina lowered her head and turned to face her furious mother standing in the doorway. She didn't even have a chance to apologize before her mother started yelling.

"Do you know how expensive those paints were? And the carpet! We'll never be able to afford to clean it!" Her mommy's howls followed Lina into the night as she ran from her house, tears stinging her eyes.

* * *

Mommy and Daddy. I refuse to let my family go through that. So I will plunder treasure from every bandit gang in the world, until I am rich enough that I will never have to worry about money again. Mommy and Daddy, I won't do to my kids what you did to me.


End file.
